[DECtalk] DECtalk on old phone system

[Don]

On 2/13/2021 8:16 AM, Blake Roberts wrote:
> Hello everyone,
> Someone who is apparently not on this list sent me a recording of DECtalk on a
> phone system. The recording was made between 1984-1987. He dialed a wrong
> number and heard DECtalk speak a menu. He pressed a button other than specified
> options and heard DECtalk sing Edelweiss. This was interesting to him. He
> called back and recorded DECtalk speaking and singing.

The "commercial" application of DECtalk was for IVR (Interactive Voice
Response).  You'll note there are two RJ11 jacks on the back of the
unit:  one connects to the phone *line* while the other connects to
a (local) telephone handset.  This allows the DECtalk to answer the phone
and interact with the caller as driven by a computer connected to the serial
port.  Alternatively, a human user can use the telephone handset to
access the phone line.

Note that the DECtalk Express lost the telco interface -- possibly as a
nod to its lack of actual use?

[I don't think any of my other synthesizers have telco interfaces!]

> The person who made the attached DECtalk recording decades ago encouraged
> sharing of his recording. Since his digitized version from an old tape recorder
> was at a very low volume, I used an audio editor to raise the volume somewhat.
> That should make DECtalk easier to hear. Enjoy this antique!

What's the value of a bandwidth-limited version of DECtalk speech?
Isn't it better to listen to the normal output from the synthesizer?